ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Unilateral hearing loss is characterized by a decrease of hearing in one ear only. In the presence of ambient noise, individuals with unilateral hearing loss are faced with greater difficulties understanding speech than normal listeners.
OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the speech perception of individuals with unilateral hearing loss in speech perception with and without competitive noise, before and after the hearing aid fitting process.
METHODS:
The study included 30 adults of both genders diagnosed with moderate or severe sensorineural unilateral hearing loss using the Hearing In Noise Test - Hearing In Noise Test-Brazil, in the following scenarios: silence, frontal noise, noise to the right, and noise to the left, before and after the hearing aid fitting process.
RESULTS:
The study participants had a mean age of 41.9 years and most of them presented right unilateral hearing loss. In all cases evaluated with Hearing In Noise Test, a better performance in speech perception was observed with the use of hearing aids.
CONCLUSION:
Using the Hearing In Noise Test-Brazil test evaluation, individuals with unilateral hearing loss demonstrated better performance in speech perception when using hearing aids, both in silence and in situations with a competing noise, with use of hearing aids.
Keywords:
Speech perception; Unilateral hearing loss; Noise